A goalless draw against Arsenal has seemingly delayed the inevitable as the Blues require another five points to be termed Champions. The title march continues as Chelsea travel to the King Power Stadium to battle it out with a motivated Leicester City side on Wednesday night.

The Foxes are placed 17th on the Premier League table with 31 points and will fancy a chance to extend their lead over the bottom three clubs by defeating the leaders.

Let’s analyze our opponents:

The History

Based in Leicester at the King Power Stadium, Leicester City F.C. are the promoted champions of the Football League Championship in 2013-14. The club was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse and was changed to Leicester City in 1919. They have won the League Cup three times and have been FA Cup runners-up four times. The club’s highest ever finish was second place in the top flight, in Division One in 1928-29. The club holds a joint-highest seven second-tier titles.

Recent Form

Nigel Pearson’s men had been at the bottom for 140 days and seemed destined for relegation. They surprised everyone by winning four consecutive games in April, moving out of the relegation zone. In a thrilling encounter at White Hart Lane, the foxes almost earned a point in their 4-3 defeat. Their recent run of victories were against West Ham, West Brom, Swansea and fellow strugglers Burnley. In the month of April, the Foxes are enjoying form percentage of 80% compared to Chelsea’s 86%. Last 5 games: L-W-W-W-W

Team News

Pearson certainly has his desired team to face the traveling Blues with a few changes to be made. David Nugent is expected to sit out along with Jeffrey Schlupp after the duo suffered injuries in the last couple of games. Jamie Vardy remains doubtful after suffering a blow against Burnley, but might just make it in time to face the League leaders on Wednesday.

Pearson has stated in his recent press conference that he expects Chelsea to be strong and at their best, urging his team to match the level and intensity of the Premier League leaders.

NP: "@ChelseaFC will be strong on Wednesday. We expect them to be at their best and we have to be at our best." #LeiChe

Formation

Pearson will head into the game with a 5-3-2 formation. With Wasilewski, Huth and Morgan guarding the keeper and Konchesky on the left with Albrighton as the right back. The midfield will see the duo of Cambiasso and King; while Drinkwater on the right. The two strikers upfront will be Ulloa and Vardy who will try their best to penetrate into the solid Chelsea defense.

Strength – Key Player

Kasper Schmeichel: Returning from injury Schmeichel has kept 2 clean sheets in his last 5 games, his return has also won them 4 out of the 5 matches played. He has helped his team with death defying saves game after game, from his great reflexes to great efforts during set-pieces. The Danish footballer is one of the biggest reasons for Leicester City’s promotion into the Premier League.

The Foxes will be bombarded by Chelsea’s attacking force; if they are to get anything from the match, they will need their keeper to be on top of his game. With the recent run of performances he’s having, Kasper Schmeichel certainly looks ready to guard his post at all costs.

Weakness

Pearson’s men are in a great form, but their success has mostly come against teams who are placed in the bottom half of the table. Defeating a side like Chelsea requires skill and experience. The foxes are a goal hunting team, making them vulnerable for counter attacks. Left-back Albrighton and the center backs haven’t seen a lot of Eden Hazard and will have field day containing the little Belgian throughout the 90 minutes. Pearson might also rest a few important players with Saturday’s visit of Newcastle in mind, making the squad vulnerable to the brilliance of Chelsea.

Head to Head

The two sides have played 72 games in the past with Chelsea winning 36 leaving Leicester City with 17. On 22 occasions the two teams have shared points.

Match Facts

– Chelsea have won the last five Barclays Premier League games in a row against Leicester City.
– The Foxes have lost their last five Premier League games against the side that topped the PL table coming into the fixture.
– Leicester have conceded more goals in the first half of PL games this season (27) than Chelsea have overall in 2014-15 (26).
– Leicester City are looking to win five successive top-flight games for the first time since January 1964.

Fatigue is bound to play an important part in Wednesday’s game as Leicester played Burnley on Saturday while the Blues faced Arsenal on Sunday. Nigel Pearson is expected to rest a few of his star performers with much winnable games on the card starting this weekend. On paper the quality in the Chelsea side is bound to dominate from start to end, but it’s the momentum that the Foxes carry which might help them earn at least a point against the League leaders.

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